The frequently zany scribblings of a well-rounded man with passionate opinions. Hey, it's better than "Something I put up because I needed to rant before my head exploded."

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

WORLD GEOGRAPHY WEEK-BOLT CASTLE

About 15 years ago my family and I took a daytrip to Kingston and went on the Thousand Islands cruise. Geographically speaking, that was nice. I got a good feeling, being out in the middle of Lake Ontario, knowing there were (actually more than) a thousand islands around us, many with unique features. Mainly, though, it was boring because I couldn't see them.

As part of our Thousand Islands cruise, we stopped off at Bolt Castle on the New York State side of the Thousand Islands. Now _that was interesting.

For those of you who don't know the story, which I assume is most of you, a wealthy industrialist named James Bolt wanted a vacation home for himself and his bride-to-be, so he imported a castle from the Rhine River and erected it on the island on which it presently stands, the name of which island escapes me at the moment. Partway through the project, the now Mrs. Bolt died and James abandoned the project in grief.

Never having been in a castle before, touring Bolt Castle was quite the experience. We walked through the great hall, stood on the tower and saw the rest of the place, or at least the parts completed before Bolt's wife's death.

One thing is for sure: Had James Bolt completed the rebuilding of this German castle and vacationed there with his family, he would not have had the kind of home where it would be possible to tell people, "Well gosh, we'd love to have you for the weekend, but we don't know where we could put you."